1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cartridge of a recording-medium cartridge (hereinafter indicated as recording-medium cartridge) equipped with a cartridge memory. Additionally, the present invention relates to a recording-and-reproducing device of the recording-medium cartridge.
2. Description of Relevant Art
A conventional recording-medium cartridge, which stores a recording-medium, such as a magnetic tape, is equipped with a cartridge memory. This cartridge memory mainly holds manufacturing-information, which is the information with regard to a manufacturer and to a serial (production) number, and history information, which is the information with regard to a user name and to used hours. In this recording-medium cartridge equipped with a cartridge memory, the data-exchange and the power supply of the cartridge memory is performed in a contactless manner. To be more precise, the data-exchange between the cartridge memory and an external device and the power supply to the cartridge memory are performed in a contactless manner by utilizing an electromagnetic induction. Therefore, the cartridge memory is stored in the cartridge case. As an example of these kinds of the recording-medium cartridge, the recording-medium cartridge disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent application (JP2001-332064) can be cited.
In the conventional recording-medium cartridge, basically, the recording (re-write) of the data on a media is allowed to perform repeatedly.
The recording-medium cartridge, which adopts the mechanism that forbids the re-write of the information on the media, has also been discovered. In this mechanism, the forbiddance of the re-write of the information is determined by recognizing the change of the shape of the recording-medium. To be more precise, a breakable tab, which is provided on the side of the recording-medium cartridge, is used as this mechanism. In the recording-medium cartridge adopting this mechanism, the re-write of the information is forbidden, when a recording-and-reproducing device detects the presence of the opening, which is formed by breaking the breakable tab.
In the conventional recording-medium cartridge adopting this mechanism, however, the re-write of the information is forbidden in the whole area of the media. That is, in the conventional recording-medium cartridge, a write-once area and a re-writable area cannot exist simultaneously on the media. Here, the write-once area is the area wherein the re-write of the data is forbidden, and the re-writable area is the area wherein the re-write of the data is allowed.
Therefore, the recording-medium cartridge, which stores the media that has both the write-once area and the re-writable area, has been required. Additionally, the recording-and-reproducing device of this recording-medium cartridge has also been required.